Tickled
by kellyyouse
Summary: When Scully is visited by her friend, Beth, who loves to tease her about Mulder, Scully finds her relationship with Mulder changing immensely.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** X-Files and its characters are owned by 20th Century Fox and Chris Carter.I just borrowed them for a few hours :)

**Author's Note:** I wrote this story and my other _X-Files_ fanfic a number of years ago and thought it time to upload to this community.

Summary: When Scully's friend Beth whose main hobby is teasing Scully about Mulder visits her, Scully finds her relationship with Mulder changing immensely.

**Tickled**

Scully finished getting the extra bedroom ready for her friend Beth. They'd met while they were both in the Academy and grown close, but while Scully was asked to teach, Beth had been transferred to a field office in Seattle, so it had been almost 6 years since they'd last seen each other. Consequently, when Scully heard that Beth had been re-assigned to Washington, D.C., she was more than happy to offer her a place to stay until she found an apartment.

Scully was looking forward to having someone to stay with for a while. Living on her own, despite its independence, sometimes got lonely. But, the only problem she foresaw was having to introduce Beth to Mulder in person. Beth was a sweet, kind, wonderful friend, but when it came to Mulder, the teasing Scully endured from her was unbearable. With the majority of that teasing occurring over the phone, she could only guess what could happen with them together. Convincing Beth to keep her mouth shut while Mulder was around would probably be a pretty big task.

Scully heard the doorbell ring and placed a last extra pillow in the trunk in front of the bed. She hurried to the front door and, after quickly straightening her hair, opened it with one quick pull.

"Dana!" Beth dropped her shoulder bag and threw her arms around Scully. "God, it's so good to see you again."

"I missed you." Scully said, returning her hug. She pulled away and reached down to pick up one of her suitcases. "You look really great."

"Me? No." Beth followed Scully inside and dropped her other suitcase on the floor by the couch. She fell onto it, resting her head against the back. "Same long brown hair, same face--just a little older." She motioned for Scully to sit down next to her. "But you look wonderful--really mature, in a good way, I mean."

"It has been six years." Scully sat on the couch next to her. "There's so much to talk about--"

"How about you and Fox?" Beth smiled.

"Beth," Scully said, a warning tone in her voice. She hadn't expected her to start so soon.

"What, I'm just interested to know how work is going," Beth explained, her lips curled down in an expression of mock seriousness.

Scully rolled her eyes. "Now, how do I know that's not entirely true?"

"Oh, come on, Dana," Beth said. She raised her eyebrows twice and grinned, continuing, "I simply find you two fascinating."

"Why?" Scully asked, moving away from the couch and into the kitchen. She knew it was pointless in trying to divert Beth's attention from what seemed to be her favorite topic--it took up the lengthier parts of their phone conversations. But, with Beth here, Scully lost the element of hiding body language and reaction. There were so many things about her and Mulder that Beth simply didn't understand--Scully didn't want to react to something Beth teased about in a way that would only garner further teasing and further embarrassment for no real reason but a misunderstanding on Beth's part.

"Come on," Beth responded, turning around and resting her chin on the back of the couch. "You've spent more time with him than any man you've known, you haven't been on a date in, oh, three years, and you yourself said that he's the only one in the world you trust."

"That's just the nature of our work," Scully defended herself. She pulled two glasses from a cabinet and set them on the counter.

"It's the nature of your attraction."

At that, Scully turned towards and glared, only to find a very wide grin spreading across Beth's face. "It's not that way."

Still grinning, Beth said, "You wouldn't be so quick to deny it if it weren't true."

"There's nothing to deny."

"So you admit you have a thing for him, then." Beth jumped from the couch and strolled into the kitchen next to Scully.

"I don't," Scully stressed. She poured iced tea into the glasses and handed one to Beth.

"Yeah, you do." Beth sipped at the iced tea then turned the cup around in her hand a few times, seemingly studying the floral pattern around the rim.

Scully sensed Beth only getting more and more interested in their conversation and wanted to end it more than anything. She thought it was wonderful that Beth cared about her enough to want her to have someone, but at the same time, the reason Beth fixated specifically on Mulder chewed at her nerves. She put the pitcher of iced tea back in the refrigerator and attempted to find a way to end this little chat, only to have her thoughts cut off.

"You do flirt, right?" Beth leaned against the counter and added, "And touch a lot?"

That caught Scully off guard. "Well," she attempted, only to lose any coherent thought that would suffice as an explanation. She glanced at Beth and found that silly grin reminding her that she'd waited just a little too long to answer. "People touch each other...it's only natural." Feeling her face heat up, she moved out of the kitchen, afraid that Beth might start wrongly reading her body language.

"This is getting good," Beth smirked, grasping her glass of iced tea and following Scully into the living room. "Did you ever see him naked?"

"How do you go from touching to nudity?"

"Easy." Beth sat on the couch's armrest and crossed her legs. "So, did you?"

Scully bit her upper lip and allowed a "Well..." to slip from her mouth.

"You did!" Beth's face lit up.

Scully felt her face flush completely as she tried to explain, "I had to undress him when he came into my apartment poisoned." That was an innocent enough explanation that even Beth couldn't twist unless she really worked at it. She thought it best to leave out how soft his skin felt while she slid his clothes off his body. But that was only a mere personal observation in a time of stress that meant nothing anyway.

"He must have one hell of a body to make your face that red."

Damn her, Scully thought. How was she so good at making innocent events the most embarrassing moments? This had to end now. "Look, I'm really tired, and I'm sure you must be too."

"You know, you're right." Beth slapped her hand against her knee, then let the grin reappear. "Wouldn't want to keep you from your fantasies."

"Good night, Beth."

Beth picked up her suitcases and followed Scully to her room to get her things out of the way. When they reached the door she gleefully continued. "I can't wait until you introduce me to him tomorrow." With that she entered the room and closed the door.

Scully closed her eyes and fell against the wall. She hadn't thought about introducing them.

******X X X**

Scully left for Headquarters intentionally early in order to catch Mulder before Beth enacted her attack plan. She explained to Beth that she had some work to do and since she didn't have to be in until 9:30am, it would be silly to leave so early. So after doing 80 on the highway and sprinting to their basement office, Scully managed to have about 30 minutes to prepare herself and Mulder for blast-off.

When she got inside the office, she noticed Mulder's things on his desk, but no Mulder. "Mulder," she called. She really wanted to find him and give him some warning or his introduction to Beth could become a rather humiliating situation. Well, it would probably be humiliating regardless, but at least if he knew, she wouldn't be caught off guard. "Mulder," she tried again, slightly louder.

"In here," came a muffled reply from the bathroom.

"Are you decent?" she asked, setting her hand on the doorknob.

"Yep," he stated. "But I don't have to be."

She sighed and shook her head before opening the door. Without looking up at him, she said, "I need to talk to you about something."

Mulder leaned in towards the mirror trying to finish shaving. The hot water and gas heating had gone dead in his apartment, so he had attempted to make himself look presentable despite the confines of the office bathroom and a lack of sleep. "What is it?" he yawned.

"I have this friend."

"You're not trying to set me up with someone, are you?" He turned to face her, a tired grin tugging at his mouth.

She sighed. "Mulder." She leaned against the wall and decided against drawing the story out. Actually, the more she thought about it, the more silly it seemed to be taking everything so seriously. "She's a friend from the Academy and just got transferred to D.C." She gazed up at Mulder, finding his eyes closed and his face streaked with shaving cream. "Mulder," she called, trying to rouse his attention.

He mumbled, "Hmm?"

"You okay?"

His eyes still closed, his head wavered slightly before he answered. "Yeah, I just didn't sleep last night--the heat's out in my apartment."

He sat down and forced his heavy eyelids open partially. "So what about this friend?"

Scully noticed his face still had shaving cream in places, so she took his razor from the sink and bent towards him.

Curious, he caught her gaze. "What are you doing?"

"You missed a few spots." She ran the razor down his left cheek and reached for a towel. "Besides," she continued, dabbing at a small cut on his chin, "with your history of injuries, it would be pretty bad to bleed to death from shaving in your sleep."

"Mmmm," he moaned, managing to nod.

"Don't move," Scully said, placing her palm against his face.

"So what about this friend?"

"Oh yeah," Scully sighed. She leaned in further, bringing her face closer to his, and continued gliding the razor over his cheek. "Well, she has this thing about us."

"Us?" Mulder rested his elbows on his knees and leaned his chin in his hands.

Scully felt a knot form in her stomach, but pushed on. "She thinks we have a thing for each other."

"A thing?" Mulder smiled. "What is she 13?"

"No, but she's more than open about it." She stood in front of him, grateful for his calm reaction. "I just thought you should know." She finished shaving his other cheek and moved to do his chin. "Move your hands."

Mulder dropped his hands away from his face, but Scully's close proximity only made them land lightly at her waist. Too tired to move, he left them there, closing his eyes.

She shivered at his touch. "Move your hands."

"I did," he exclaimed, moving them again, but not away from her. He noticed her shiver again and he smiled. "What, are you ticklish?"

"A little," she admitted.

He grazed his fingertips across her sides, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

"Mulder," she nearly shouted. His fingers triggered her nerve endings to light up and feeling her knees weaken, she rested her hand on his neck for support.

Mulder let out an inaudible moan. "Don't do that," he whispered. "What? This?" Scully asked, letting her thumb slide across his neck. When he nodded, she couldn't help grinning. "I'll stop if you stop."

"What is this, a competition?" He tickled her sides again, making her shake.

She giggled from the tickling or from the ridiculousness of the situation- -she wasn't sure which--and rubbed his neck again, making his head fall forward against her chest. "Do you mind?" she managed.

"Just let me sleep for a minute." He rested his hands on her hips and closed his eyes, sighing.

Scully placed her hands on Mulder's shoulders near the base of his neck and gazed down at his face. He actually was sleeping, she noticed. She watched his face, as calm as a little boy's, and his mouth curving into the near-smile he gave her on occasion, the irresistible one that made it difficult not to smile back. In his half-conscious state, she felt him wrap his arms further around her waist, pulling her closer against his upper body. She stifled a laugh, wondering if he knew what he was doing and to whom, but stopped when she realized she herself was caressing his neck, threading her fingers lightly through his soft hair. She couldn't resist a grin. "Mulder, do you know how ridiculous we look?"

"I don't care," he breathed against her chest, "it's comfortable."

"Come on," she whispered, stroking his shoulder.

He released his hold on her waist, stood and stretched, his long thin body seeming almost taller. He dropped his hands to his hips and smiling with half-closed eyes, said, "Just promise to wake me up now and then over the next few days."

"If your heat's going to be out that long, why don't you stay at my place? " The words were out before she remembered Beth.

"That'd be great, but what about your friend?"

"Well," she said, thinking about what Beth would construe of her invitation to Mulder. "You could take the couch, and I may be able to prove something to Beth once and for all." At least, she hoped she would.

"Won't she get weird about the supposed thing between us?"

Scully rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Weird isn't the word." She bit on her bottom lip, figuring that with patience, she could probably handle her.

A half-grin tugged at Mulder's mouth, and he held back a small chuckle.

"Come on," he said, "let's get to work."

Mulder and Scully finished some paperwork and general housekeeping on some cases before breaking for the day. Beth had called Scully after her meeting with the personnel director and asked if she and Mulder would meet her for dinner at a place called La Rose. Scully attempted a last- ditch effort to delay Beth's meeting Mulder, but with him right by her, it didn't quite work.

"I think Mulder's busy," she'd said.

"Nonsense," Mulder shouted from his desk. "I'm free as a bird."

Scully shot him a look that said, 'shut up,' but Beth had already heard him.

"Great," she giddily exclaimed. "I'm sure we'll all have a great time."

Scully sighed, "All right--we'll see you there in a half-hour."

Mulder let her hang up before he finally released a grin. "I would've met her tonight, anyway."

"True," Scully agreed. She moved away from her desk to get her coat, but Mulder took it before she could.

"Is she really that bad about us?" he asked while placing her coat around her shoulders. When Scully nodded in response, he replied, "Interesting."

Scully faced him and found a curious gleam in his eyes. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing, nothing." He slipped his overcoat on and opened the door for her. He placed his hand on her back and guided her out. "Come on," he smiled. "We'll be late."

**X X X**

When they arrived at the restaurant, Beth was already there with a table for them. Mulder held the door open for her, and Scully squeezed her eyes shut and sighed, mentally preparing herself for an evening of embarrassment. The truth was, though, that by now, she was no longer quite sure who would embarrass her more--Beth or Mulder. His little comment about Beth's fixation on them being "interesting" hung in her mind the whole car ride there. Plus, Mulder hadn't spoken a word since they'd left the office--that was what she found interesting.

"Nice place--they even have music," Mulder commented while they waited for someone to direct them to their table.

They made their way through the packed restaurant to the table and Scully quickly got through the introductions. "Beth, this is my partner, Fox Mulder."

"I've heard so much about you." Beth smiled and took Mulder's hand. "You're right, Dana," she said, her eyes lighting up, "he is cute."

Scully rolled her eyes and sincerely hoped that the next hour or two wouldn't take more than a day to go by. She moved to sit down, but was stopped by Mulder's hand on hers.

"Let me get that for you, Dana." He pulled her chair out, and directed her to sit down, giving her the sweetest smile he could muster.

Scully eyed him suspiciously, curious at his use of her first name. "Thanks, Mulder," she muttered.

As Mulder sat down, he leaned close to Scully, whispering near her ear, "Anything for you."

Her skin tingled where his breath had grazed across her ear. She shot him a warning look--this wasn't the time to be playing jokes, if that's what he intended.

"So," Beth sang, dragging her gaze towards Mulder.

Another warning glance from Scully shot in her direction told Beth to stop before she even started.

"So everyone know what they're ordering, yet?" Beth stated, smiling at Scully.

They sat through nearly ten minutes of awkward silence and another ten after a waiter took their drink order. Scully noticed Beth being unusually quiet, especially with one of the objects of her scheme, Mulder, sitting right there. She was hoping Beth was heeding her request to keep her teasing to a minimum.

"I'll be back in a minute," Beth said, standing away from their table.

"Where are you going?" Scully asked.

"Just something I forgot to do." With that, she disappeared into the crowded restaurant.

Scully craned her neck back and forth in an attempt to figure out where Beth had gone. But, on a Friday night at the height of the dinner hours and the number of people that had begun to dance, it was difficult to make out what direction she might have taken. She thought she caught sight of her when a hand on her shoulder made her jump slightly.

"What are you doing?" Mulder asked.

"I don't trust her." She settled back in her chair, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"She's your best friend, right?" His voice had a slight disappointed tone to it.

"Well," Scully said, turning to Mulder, "maybe not best friend." She locked her gaze with his and returned his smile.

Beth appeared back at the table just in time. "Interrupting anything?"

Scully jerked her head towards her. "No, not at all." She rolled her eyes at the pleased look on Beth's face. "Everything all right?"

"Oh, great," she replied, nodding.

As Scully watched her expression, Beth seemed to be stifling a grin. Scully started to speak, but was interrupted by a voice over the microphone.

"We have a special request here for a song. This is dedicated to Spooky from Dana with all her love. Come on out here, folks!"

The sweet opening strains of the old 40's song, "It's Been a Long, Long Time" coursed through the air contrasting with the leveled look Scully thrust at Beth. "What are you doing?"

"Having a little fun," Beth smirked.

Scully faced Mulder, her face flushing with embarrassment and apology. "Sorry about this," she said.

He leaned towards her and whispered against her ear, "Dance with me."

"What?" she murmured.

"Come on."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** X-Files and its characters are owned by 20th Century Fox and Chris Carter.I just borrowed them for a few hours :)

**Author's Note:** I wrote this story and my other _X-Files_ fanfic a number of years ago and thought it time to upload to this community.

**Chapter 2**

Before she had a chance to reply, Mulder had taken her hand and pulled her from her chair. He had moved so quickly that they were halfway onto the dance floor when she finally got his attention. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Oh come on, Scully," he managed through the noise of the crowd. "I know you haven't had much experience with men, but I assume you know what dancing is." When he found a fairly empty space on the floor he abruptly stopped, making Scully walk into his chest. "There you go," he said, slipping his arm around her waist.

"Funny." She instinctively set her arm against his back and took his hand when he offered it. "You know, this is only going to incite her."

"Exactly," he smirked, raising his eyebrows.

"Do you know what I'm going to have to go through because of this?" She pulled away enough to look at his face.

"She teases you because she knows nothing's going on with us," he explained. "She only does it because it bothers you." He smiled and twirled them both around. "So why not play with her mind a little?"

Damn him for making sense. Scully tried peering around Mulder's shoulder and found Beth staring at them, a wicked smile on her face. "She's watching us."

"Play along with me," he whispered.

He pulled her closer to him, and her face came to rest against his chest. Part of her wondered why he was taking so much interest in Beth's teasing, but she grew too warm and relaxed to bother thinking about it. She closed her eyes, and his arm slid up her back to her shoulders, tickling her on its lazy path. She giggled against his chest and felt his breath whisper an apology against her ear. She still was curious why he said, "play along," since so far they hadn't done anything that Beth wouldn't expect even if she didn't really think there was anything between them.

His breath on her neck introduced her to his plan. His face ruffled through her hair, then he rubbed his stubbled cheek between her neck and shoulder, making her shiver. His arm pressed on her back so much that her body pinned against his. "What are you doing?" she managed to breathe.

"I think she's watching." he said.

"I can't tell." She couldn't tell because she refused to open her eyes. Charade or not, this was all a little too strange to comprehend and, somehow, witnessing it with her own eyes was too much to consider. Keeping them shut made everything safely fictional.

Then he kissed her neck. Her knees buckled, but mainly from the shock, she convinced herself. She pulled away and opened her eyes, capturing his gaze. She'd wanted to say something, but could only stare at him for a few moments before realizing that the song had ended and the dancers were dissipating from the floor. "Let's sit down."

He moved his mouth to respond, but decided to nod instead for fear he'd lost his ability to speak. He released his hold on her and led her to their table with his hand on the small of her back.

They sat in silence before finally looking at Beth to gauge her reaction. She appeared to gape back and forth at each of them and then at the approaching waiter who set their salads down.

"Hungry everyone?" Mulder stated.

**X X X**

They left the restaurant an hour later. Beth had wolfed down her meal while Mulder and Scully stared at their plates and each other, periodically shifting their food from side to side with their forks. Scully was more than happy when the waitress dropped their check on the table with a glare at her and Mulder's full plates and a quick "Was there a problem with the food?" She just wanted to leave--leave and forget that entire display that evening had become.

Scully and Beth waited at the curb while Mulder got the car. Scully peered out into the parking lot, hoping somehow that she could draw Mulder out of the lot and and transport their car there as quickly as possible.

"He's quite a gentleman," Beth said.

"Yes he is," Scully agreed, still craning her neck to find their damned car.

"Is he always so," Beth paused, watching Scully with interest before finishing, "Gentlemanly?"

Scully froze, then let her head drop to face Beth. "How the hell am I supposed to know what Mulder's like in bed?"

"What?" Beth asked, laughing a little. "I only meant does he do stuff like get the car all the time." At Scully's reddening face, she smiled. "That was quite a scene tonight."

"It was a game," Scully retorted.

"Quite a convincing one."

"Look," Scully said, shifting on her feet and wondering what the hell was taking Mulder so long with the car. "Mulder thought it would be fun to play with your obsession with us, and I went along." She bit her lower lip. "For the fun of it."

"So pressing yourself against his body was all for my sake?"

"Precisely." Scully felt a twinge of relief when she saw the car making its way towards them through the winding parking lot.

"So, could you tell if he was turned on?"

"Beth!"

The car pulled up, and Beth grasped the handle of the back door. "Just a natural question." When they were all situated in the car, she asked, "I hope it's not too out of your way to take Dana and I home."

"Didn't Scully tell you?"

Beth leaned forward and rested her arms on both the front seats. "Tell me what?" she asked.

"The heat's out at my place so I'm spending the night."

Scully stared out the windshield, refusing to look in Beth's direction at all. So, she felt, rather than heard Beth's whispered words pound on her eardrum.

"Now there's an excuse if ever I heard one."

**X X X**

By the time they got to her apartment, Scully had stopped talking. Besides feeling tired, she felt frustrated after the events of the day and thought that if she just didn't talk at all, Beth would be less likely to tease her and Mulder would probably just leave her be for the time being. Without even taking off her coat, she walked straight to her bedroom, turning only once to say, "Well, I want to get some sleep, so I'll see you tomorrow." After hearing Mulder comment about probably taking the couch, she shut her door, peeled off her coat and suit and tossed on a t-shirt and pair of flannel shorts. Then she threw herself on her bed and hugged a pillow against her chest.

Scully wasn't sure how long she'd slept, but waking up hadn't been a problem. She remembered hovering in a near-sleep when she sensed a tickling on her back. The movement traced over her t-shirt in slow random circles.

"Scully, it's me," Mulder said. "Are you asleep?"

"Mulder, that better not be you," she mumbled in her still sleepy state.

"You feeling okay?" His hand stopped between her shoulder blades and rested there.

"I'm fine," she mumbled.

"You just seemed kind of upset or something."

She felt the bed move and assumed he must have sat down. Lying on her stomach, she turned her head on the pillow to face him, realizing he wasn't going to leave until he was convinced she was okay. He was just such a guilt-ridden person sometimes.

"Did what I did at the restaurant bother you?" Mulder asked, his voice crackling.

"It's not you."

"Then just tell Beth--"

"It's not her either." Scully turned her face into the pillow. "It's me."

"You?"

He resumed rubbing her back, the sensation making her close her eyes. "Just the teasing and joking make me think and well, you know."

"That all you have is teasing. Nothing real."

As usual, Mulder hit the nail on the head and did it with such sympathy that she wondered if it was as much a revelation about himself as it was about her. A head nod was all she could manage in response.

"I'm sure we'll both eventually find the right person, but in the meantime," he said, his fingers trickling across her back, eliciting a giggle, "you've still got me."

She smiled and shifted her shoulders in an attempt to push away his tickling fingers. "Mulder, stop."

"I don't think so."

"Mulder!"

The tickling assault began.

Scully turned over to wrest some control, but heaving laughter only allowed her on her back, with her arms weakly grasping Mulder at random. She attempted to tickle him back, but couldn't find the strength, finally resorting to resting her hands against his back. "Stop," she gasped, tears forming in her eyes from the power of her laughter. She gazed up and found his smiling, mischievous face.

"Oh, no," he managed, laughing somewhat himself. "This is way too much fun." He gripped her body against his and rolled over until she was atop him, her hands trapped between his back and the mattress.

She had to admit that Mulder had her again. She couldn't control her laughter and had lost any hope of finishing her revenge for what he'd started a few minutes ago. But, she knew, there was one place she could get him--his neck. She summoned enough composure to open her eyes and discovered to her delight that her face rested near the side of his neck. But, with her hands pinned between his back and the mattress and his giving no sign of lifting his weight from her, access seemed nearly impossible. Without use of her hands, there wasn't much she could do. She licked her lips and resigned herself that he would win. Unless...

Mulder had been so consumed with tickling Scully senseless that he barely registered a brief warm sensation just below his right ear. Ignoring it, he kept gliding his hands up and down her sides and back, reveling that he was in the lead. Then he felt it again. But, instead of a single momentary sensation, the warmth swirled up and down the length of his neck, from his ear to near his shoulder. He closed his eyes, then it stopped. But, as he let his fingers dance down Scully's back, he sensed an even more intense heat at the base of his neck, forcing his hands to slow their movements. Suddenly, a slight suction and pulling on his skin made him lose complete focus of his former intentions. Jesus, that felt good. He let his head drop back and stopped tickling her.

However, he didn't stop touching her. When she first touched her tongue to his neck, she felt his hands stop, then continue, so she pressed on, running her tongue in a gentle design over his neck. He tasted interestingly salty...perhaps from too many sunflower seeds, she mused. She sensed his fingers slowing to a simple glide up and down her back, so she imitated his pattern before resting to gauge his reaction. His breathing had calmed from the frenzied laughter from earlier, but his waltzing hands didn't seem to give up. She had to take it a step further. She opened her mouth and set it on his neck, registering his hands coming to a halt at her shoulder blades. To complete the coup, she sucked on his skin. She felt the random, wild tickling cease, but curiously noticed he didn't let go of her. His hands instead had paused at her waist before working their way under her shirt. Her body warmed at the sensation of his hands pressing on her bare skin, taking on a rhythmic, patterned grip that dove deep into the muscles in her back, making a leisurely, exquisite path from her shoulders to her waist. She released his

skin and let out a shaky breath, her head falling against his shoulder.

He held her tightly against his chest and pulled them into a sitting position. Scully was sitting on his lap now, her legs sprawled out on either side of him, her head still buried against his shoulder. Mulder kept rubbing and massaging her back under her shirt holding her as close as he could. She ran her hands up his back and into his hair, letting them stop behind his ears. Finally, she pulled away from his shoulder and met his gaze a mere inch from hers. They stopped all movements and stared at each other with half- closed eyes. Both of their breathing had grown ragged, and they leaned forward enough so that their foreheads touched, slowly closing the space between them.

The door burst open and Beth strolled in, staring at her fingernails. "Dana, do you have the papers you mentioned--" She looked up and couldn't resist an evil smile at the scene that greeted her. When she caught both of them trying to untangle their limbs and their faces turning bright red, she knew a lot more than playing had happened this time. "Oops," she managed without laughing. "Didn't mean to interrupt your little game." She moved to turn, but glanced at them one last time before opening the door, spying an interestingly new feature of Mulder. "Oh, Fox, I know you're a guy and all," she drawled, grinning, "but a little makeup ought to hide that hickey just fine." With that she left, bursting into laughter when the door closed.

"Oh my God," Scully drawled as she dropped backwards onto the bed. "I can't believe she saw that."

Mulder fell down next to her and ran a hand through his hair. "What the hell was that anyway?"

"You mean you don't know?" She turned on her side to face him.

"Don't you?" He imitated her actions, leaning on an elbow for support.

She reached out and ran her finger across his neck. "I can't believe I gave you a hickey," she whispered, almost to herself when she grazed the now purplish-red spot.

"You certainly got my attention." He laughed and pushed some of her hair behind her ears.

Scully savored the sensation of his warm hand brushing against her face. But, there was something she wanted to know about something she'd noticed when they were touching each other. The more she reviewed the scene in her mind, especially what they must've looked like to Beth, the more embarrassed she felt about what happened and the more nervous she grew about her question. "Mulder," she said, her voice shaky. She averted her gaze from his eyes to somewhere on his chest. "When we were touching each other, did you feel..." She couldn't use the words, so she nodded towards below his waist.

"Scully," he said, an embarrassed smile spreading across his face. He thought it funny how she could be a doctor and feel the need to use physical gestures to get to her point. But, he thought, she wouldn't have asked that question if she hadn't noticed something. His face flushed when he realized that. "Well," he stammered, "I kind of felt..." He let his gaze drop to her hand resting between them. "Something happened." He looked up and caught her smiling. "I could ask the same about you, you know."

"That's different."

"No it's not." He ran his finger down her face, stopping at her chin. "Did you feel anything?"

"Well," Scully twisted her mouth around, trying to resist smiling. "I guess so." She caught his gaze and gave in to the urge to giggle a little. As much as they'd been through together, it felt strange talking to him about sex. It was strange in a pleasant way, though, like an unknown world that peaks one's curiosity.

"How did you feel?"

"Mulder!"

"Come on," he whispered. He slid his hand behind her head and stroked her hair. "I really want to know."

"You know," she attempted, squirming in her nervousness. "Warm. Tingly, like when you rubbed my back." She rolled her eyes, unwilling to process what he now knew about her.

He ran his hand down her back to her waist, then slipped it under her shirt, drawing small circles on her lower back with his fingertips. "Like this?" he smiled.

"Mmm hmm." She sensed her body heating up again, though she never completely cooled off in the first place. "What are we doing?" she asked as she absentmindedly tickled his chest.

"We like touching each other." He shifted to pull her closer, his hand moving further up her back. He didn't realize he'd pushed her shirt up so high until he felt her bare stomach meet his own, making his body tense and cloud over with warmth again. He pressed his lips against her forehead. "It just feels nice," he added for emphasis.

"True," she conceded. It was happening again. When his mouth touched her forehead, a flurry of unnamable sensations coursed through her stomach and elsewhere. She snaked her arm around his waist, perfectly aware this wasn't exactly a game anymore. "I think this is a little more than touching," she breathed.

"Not really." He pushed his weight against her until she was underneath him. Resuming his rubbing of her back and sides, he looked down into her eyes. Then, he lowered his face to her, allowing his lips to press against her nose.

She grinned, despite a thought crossing her mind about their newfound intimacy. "So, where exactly are we headed?" She licked her upper lip and elaborated. "I mean, I don't want to lose what we have now, but," she said, the grin returning, "I like this."

He rolled them over on their sides, still keeping his hand on her back underneath her shirt. "We don't have to have sex, if that's what you mean."

She snuggled against his chest and closed her eyes. "But can we still, uh. . ." She felt him rest his chin on top of her head. "Can we still hold each other?"

"And stuff." He murmured.

"Stuff?" She smiled against his chest.

"Stuff," he repeated, resuming his tickling of her back.

END


End file.
